How Fiesta Time Amigos Uses Toast IQ to Make Data-Driven Decisions More Quickly & Save Management 90 Minutes Per Week

That search led them to Toast, which has increased their business efficiency and visibility so that they can focus on what matters most: their customers.

A new generation of restaurant operations

Twenty years ago Alfonso Mata came to the United States from San José de la Paz in pursuit of the American Dream. Alfonso worked tirelessly in the restaurant industry and eventually brought his brothers together to build something of their own – Fiesta Time Amigos.

"Friendship and togetherness always come first, and then the food," Juan says. Now in its second generation of family ownership the founders’ vision remains intact – but the business has evolved.

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As Fiesta Time Amigos grew to four restaurants, their setup with their previous POS provider was creating challenges for the team:

• Limited Visibility: There was no connection between the system in all four locations, and minimal or no view into sales and labor performance.

• Inconvenient to Access: Systems could only be accessed in the restaurant, requiring an in-person visit to make adjustments or check information.

• Cumbersome Payroll Process: It took hours to manually administer payroll every two weeks.

• Inefficient Ordering: Tableside service was slowed by shared, fixed computer terminals.

"Before Toast, it was really hard to have a clear picture of the business's numbers. Toast has made it so much easier to see everything in one place... I don't even need to be at the restaurant, or in the same city, or even the same state. I can be in another country on vacation, open the website, and see all the restaurant numbers I need to see," José says.

More efficient and connected restaurant operations

After ramping up with Toast in 2025, Fiesta Time Amigos quickly saw efficiency gains in both the front and back of house.

Switching to Toast’s POS and handhelds was a “night-and-day difference” according to José. "Now servers can take the order and payment right at the table… Everyone has their handheld in their pocket. Everything is a lot easier and a lot faster," he says. 

Using Toast Payroll has also given José hours back into his schedule.

With all of the restaurants joined up on one connected POS system José can also communicate updates more efficiently to staff across locations. Announcements, events, and specials are added as a note that pops up when servers clock in or enter the system.

A key challenge for Juan as CEO is getting team members bought in on the culture – and having the right tools in place is a major step in that journey.

“When your team can operate on its own without you having to direct every step, they can create their own ideas and work together for the good of the company. That’s what gives me the most pride: seeing that they can do it and have the ability to,” Juan says.

Making data-driven and intelligent decisions with Toast IQ

Having their data in a single system allows Juan and José to operate with greater clarity and intention. “With Toast we can actually see our labor costs and sales, and that really helps us keep our expenses under control,” says José.

Using Toast IQ – Toast’s native AI assistant – has made this data even more accessible and actionable. Managers use Toast IQ to pull their weekly reports or forecast upcoming sales.

For a family whose roots trace back to Jalisco, the ability to interact with Toast IQ across both English and Spanish has been a welcome surprise. 

“I didn’t know Toast IQ could be used in Spanish until I told one of my managers to try it… When I realized that I was really happy. It's really important for us because we're a Mexican restaurant, and for a lot of our managers, Spanish was the first language they learned,” says José.

Getting ahead and preparing for the future

As the new generation of leadership at Fiesta Time Amigos, Juan and Jose face more pressure than ever. With Toast, they have the space to run their business instead of reacting to it.

Their team can rely on an all-in-one suite of tools to make day-to-day operations easier:

• Toast POS unifies ordering and performance data across locations.

• Toast Go Handhelds help save each server up to 60 minutes per shift on order entry and checkout, giving them more time with guests.

• Toast Payroll has cut a multi-hour biweekly task down to minutes.

• Toast IQ provides real-time reporting and forecasting, available in both English and Spanish, saving the management team 90 minutes each week.

“Ever since we got Toast , it’s helped us completely transform the business. I feel like it’s a different business now and we finally have a solid handle on it,” says José.

Instead of wrangling spreadsheets or fighting for terminals, their team can spend more time deepening relationships with customers. This might be a personal greeting from the owner or a server holding a child while their parents eat – interactions that are the cornerstone Fiesta Time Amigos and will remain so for generations to come.

FAQs

What POS system does Fiesta Time Amigos use, and how many locations does it have? Fiesta Time Amigos, a family-owned Mexican restaurant group in Louisville, Kentucky, uses Toast across its four locations, including Toast POS, Toast Handhelds, Toast IQ, Toast Payroll, and Toast Payment Processing.

Does Toast IQ work in Spanish? Yes. Toast IQ can be used in Spanish, which the Fiesta Time Amigos team discovered when a manager tried it — a meaningful feature for a team where Spanish is many managers' first language.

How has Toast simplified payroll for a multi-location restaurant group? Fiesta Time Amigos reports that a payroll process that used to take several hours every two weeks can now be completed in a few minutes by exporting directly from Toast.

How does Toast help owners manage multiple restaurant locations remotely? Toast IQ and the Toast portal let Fiesta Time Amigos' operations manager check sales, labor costs, and other numbers from any location — without needing to visit each restaurant in person.